Whether you are buying new toys as presents or bringing the toy box out of the closet for visiting children, toy safety can be an important consideration during the holiday season.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), more than 152,000 children were treated for toy-related injuries in U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 1999. Those injuries resulted in the deaths of 16 children, 75 percent of which were under 5 years of age. Contact Stein Law Bronx personal injury attorneys for more information about personal injury law and other types of law.
To chose and maintain toys that are safe for children, the CPSC offers the following recommendations:
□ Buy toys that are appropriate for a child’s age and skill level. read the age recommendation on the toy’s packaging. teach older children to keep their toys away from younger siblings.
□ Periodically inspect toys you already have fro any damage. Broken toys can expose dangerous sharp edges, smaller parts and wiring.
□ If you store toys in a chest, make sure the lid will stay raised in any position and will not fall on a child. Put toys away after play to avoid tripping or falling over them.
□ Be sure to keep uninflated balloons away from children and remove broken balloons immediately, as balloons are a major cause of choking and suffocation in children. Choking on uninflated balloons or pieces of broken balloons caused the deaths of four children in 1999.
□ Supervise children who are on riding toys, as those account for more injuries than any other type of toy.
You can find out about recent safety-related toy recalls or register a complaint about an unsafe toy by calling the CPSC’s hotline at 1-800-638-2772 or visiting their Web site at www.cpsc.gov.